BACKGROUND: Between 62 000 and 77 000 women die annually from pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. Prompt delivery, preferably by the vaginal route, is vital for good maternal and neonatal outcomes. Two low-cost interventions-low-dose oral misoprostol tablets and transcervical Foley catheterisation-are already used in low-resource settings. We aimed to compare the relative risks and benefits of these interventions. METHODS: We undertook this multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial in two public hospitals in Nagpur, India...

BACKGROUND: Untreated depression and antidepressant use during pregnancy may have negative consequences for births. There are still conflicting data on the potential harmful effects of prenatal antidepressant treatment on child health. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the use of antidepressant medication during pregnancy and selected neonatal outcomes. METHODS: A population-based cohort study including 9825 deliveries exposed to an antidepressant between 9 months before last menstrual date through to delivery, from January 2005 to December 2010 in the Lombardy region of Italy, was conducted...

Seizures are most common neurological emergency in the neonatal period and present as a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to clinicians worldwide. This prospective observational study was conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital from January 2015 to March 2015. Total 318 patients were enrolled in the study who presented with convulsion. Most of the patients were term (72.95%) and birth weight was normal (77.3%). Around 75% patients were delivered at home. Most common causes of convulsion were Perinatal Asphyxia (78%) followed by Septicemia, Hypoglycemia and Meningitis in order of frequency...

Neonatal seizure incidence is approximately 3.5/1000 live births. Inborn metabolic diseases account for approximately 1-4% of neonatal seizure cases. Among them, the catabolism anomaly of sulfite to sulfate caused by sulfite oxidase or cofactor molybdenum deficiency (MoCD) is a rare metabolic disorder in which neurological damage is similar to that found in neonatal asphyxia. We report the case of a newborn child with a MoCD. Born of related parents, this child had intrauterine growth retardation predominating on size diagnosed in the third trimester of pregnancy...

The clinical evidence of neurological menifestations associated with asphyxia is described as hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). A variety of metabolic problems are present in asphyxiated newborns including hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia and others metabolic abnormalities. Some of these biochemical disturbances may trigger seizure or potentiate further brain damage. This cross sectional case-control study was done in Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, to identify the association of hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia in neonates with perinatal asphyxia...

BACKGROUND: High risk newborns are most vulnerable to develop neuro-developmental delay (NDD). Early detection of delay in this group and identification of associated perinatal factors and their prevention can prevent disability in later life. DESIGN AND METHODS: Observational cohort study. Field based tracking and neuro-developmental screening of high risk newborns discharged between January 2010 to June 2012 from a district Hospital in India was conducted by a team of developmental specialists, using standardized tools like Denver Developmental Screening Tool II, Trivandrum Developmental Screening Chart and Amiel-Tison method of tone assessment...

BACKGROUND: Neonatal jaundice is a common cause of sensorneural hearing loss in children. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to detect the neurotoxic effects of pathologic hyperbilirubinemia on brain stem and auditory tract by auditory brain stem evoked response (ABR) which could predict early effects of hyperbilirubinemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This case-control study was performed on newborns with pathologic hyperbilirubinemia. The inclusion criteria were healthy term and near term (35 - 37 weeks) newborns with pathologic hyperbilirubinemia with serum bilirubin values of ≥ 7 mg/dL, ≥ 10 mg/dL and ≥14 mg/dL at the first, second and third-day of life, respectively, and with bilirubin concentration ≥ 18 mg/dL at over 72 hours of life...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Studies have shown that therapeutic hypothermia decreases neurological sequelae and death. Our aim was therefore to report on a three-year experience of therapeutic hypothermia among asphyxiated newborns. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective study, conducted in a university hospital. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with perinatal asphyxia undergoing body cooling between May 2009 and November 2012 were evaluated...

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is the most common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Postponing delivery for 48 hours with tocolytics to allow for maternal steroid administration and antenatal transportation to a centre with neonatal intensive care unit facilities is the standard treatment for women with threatening preterm delivery in most centres. However, there is controversy as to which tocolytic agent is the drug of first choice. Previous trials have focused on tocolytic efficacy and side effects, and are probably underpowered to detect clinically meaningfull differences in neonatal outcome...

OBJECTIVE: The identification of risk factors that predispose to development of epilepsy is crucial to its primary prevention. This study evaluated the risks conferred by some predisposing factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional analytical study assessed the relative contributions of various risk factors to development of epilepsy in 244 adult Nigerians with epilepsy compared with equal number of age- and sex-matched controls. Odds ratio and Fisher exact test were used to express significant association...

OBJECTIVE: Sex differences in long and short-term outcomes for infants are observed. This has also been shown for several neonatal complications in preterm neonates. We aimed to evaluate whether sex impacts neonatal outcome among term neonates. Furthermore, we were interested in whether small-for-gestational age male and female neonates at term presented with different patterns of neonatal complications. METHODS: Data on all term singleton deliveries and respective neonatal outcomes between 2004 and 2008 at a single tertiary medical center were utilized for this retrospective cohort study...

This cross sectional observational study was done in Department of Obs & Gynae, General Hospital Tangail, to find out the maternal and fetal outcome of eclamptic admitted patient in secondary care hospital in Bangladesh. Study period was Jan 2008 to Dec 2008. Sample size was 100. During this period total 4727 patients were admitted among them 124(2.62%) were eclamptic patients. From that 124 patients 100 cases were randomly included. Among all patients 80% had age <25 years and 62% were primigravidae. Maximum (75%) patients had antepartum eclampsia...

PURPOSE: The understanding of causation of epilepsy, especially in resource poor African countries where prevalence rates are very high, would aid strategies for primary prevention. This study sought to determine the causes of epilepsy in Nigerian Africans and health-itinerary of patients with epilepsy. METHOD: This was an observational, cross-sectional descriptive study of consecutive newly diagnosed adult patients with epilepsy using a mixed-methods approach of face-to-face in-depth interview of patients' parents and relations, health care personnel who had given medical attention at any time and telephone interview...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The efficacy of 10g intramuscular loading dose of magnesium sulphate in women with severe preeclampsia/eclampsia was assessed at a tertiary health centre for potential use at primary health level. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Intramuscular 10g loading dose and 14g loading dose of Pritchard were compared in women with severe preeclampsia/eclampsia. Primary outcome measures were the occurrence of fits in women with severe preeclampsia, further fits in those with eclampsia and maternal death...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of eclampsia and examine the maternal and fetal outcome. METHODS: A hundred and twenty consecutive admissions with eclampsia managed in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria, were prospectively collated and analysed. Maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality were recorded. RESULTS: The incidence of eclampsia was 1.2% of deliveries. Most (69.2%) of the patients had no antenatal care. In 93 (77.5%), the convulsions were controlled with diazepam, and 22...

This study evaluated etiologic and risk factors affecting long-term prognoses of neurologic outcomes in newborns with neonatal seizures. We enrolled patients at chronologic ages of 23-44 months, referred to the Department of Pediatric Neurology, Istanbul Medical Faculty, from January 1, 2007-December 31, 2009, after manifesting seizures in their first postnatal 28 days. Of 112 newborns, 41 were female, 71 were male, 33 were preterm, and 79 were full-term. Perinatal asphyxia (28.6%) and intracranial hemorrhage (17%) were the most common causes of neonatal seizures...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The efficacy of 10g intramuscular loading dose of magnesium sulphate in women with severe preeclampsia/eclampsia was assessed at a tertiary health centre for potential use at primary health level. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Intramuscular 10g loading dose and 14g loading dose of Pritchard were compared in women with severe preeclampsia/eclampsia. Primary outcome measures were the occurrence of fits in women with severe preeclampsia, further fits in those with eclampsia and maternal death...

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the therapeutic effect of human neural precursor cells transplantation in treatment of neonates with severe brain injury. METHOD: The transplantation was performed on 6 newborns, one of them was diagnosed as extremely severe carbon monoxide poisoning at 5(th) day after birth; one of them was diagnosed as severe hypoglycemia; the others had asphyxia at birth with Apgar scores from 1 to 3 and were diagnosed as severe neonatal asphyxia, severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy according to images, electroencephalogram, biochemical examination and clinical manifestation...